


Five Times Maia’s Life Was Permanently Changed

by calenlily



Category: Greek and Roman Mythology
Genre: 5 Things, Drabble Collection, Gen, POV Second Person, Present Tense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-21
Updated: 2009-12-21
Packaged: 2017-10-04 22:48:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/34932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calenlily/pseuds/calenlily
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This was never what you imagined for yourself. You were never supposed to stand out. But life changes, whether you will it or no. You will endure.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five Times Maia’s Life Was Permanently Changed

**Author's Note:**

  * For [savvierthanu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/savvierthanu/gifts).



> Hello from your Yuletide writer! My first time writing Greek Mythology fic; what a fun assignment to get! I'm not entirely sure if this is quite what you meant by a "behind the scenes" approach, but I thought it was a fun bunny to write. Sorry I couldn't manage porn for you. I hope you like it.
> 
> Contains references to many different myths (many of them star myths, I'm not sure how familiar you are with that side of Greek Mythology, but its what I was raised on); have fun identifying them all!
> 
> Faced with the vast and often contradictory canon that Greek Mythology is, I did a certain amount of picking and choosing which bits to use. Encyclopedia Mythica and Wikipedia were the sources I consulted in writing this.

_I. Maia_

Among your earliest memories is seeing your father chained, condemned to hold up the heavens for his part in the Titans' battle against the new gods. You take it to heart as an early lesson in not standing out, and you grow shy, quiet, serious.

Your sisters, too young to remember, are wilder and bolder; you're the one helping your mother keep your family together.

When word spreads that a new Huntress Goddess is looking for maiden companions, Pleione takes you and your sisters to join up.

You are content. You have your life. You have your sisters.

It suffices.

***

Quiet, caring, responsible. These are the words used to describe you, and they're probably right. Your reputation spreads as one who is kindhearted and trustworthy, and before you know it you've gone from simply helping dissuade Alcyone from keeping baby birds and talk Merope through ridiculous crushes on mortals to being a confidante and shoulder to cry on for most of the younger girls in Artemis's train. You appreciate it for the most part, though it frustrates you to get mixed up in their drama. You manage to keep mostly to the sidelines (as will be echoed in later life).

***

Eventually you chafe at your position. You are young, and foolish as the young so often are. You dream, and you grow restless. _Quiet, caring, responsible_ sounds so tedious.

You say you have fallen in love with the Arcadian countryside. You say you want space to yourself, and your reputation for shyness makes it believable. (Neither are untrue, but it is more a secret desire for rebellion that motivates you.) You receive permission to strike out on your own.

You are not built for rebellion, it turns out; your ideas of daring are laughable. But, thankfully, independence does suit you.

 

_II. Zeus_

Unaccustomed to having any visitors at your isolated dwelling on Mount Cyllene, you’re understandably shocked when you find an Olympian, and the King of Gods besides, at your door. You rather trip all over yourself trying to show him due hospitality, you sheepishly recall.

But he hardly even seems to notice. He is charming, and calls you beautiful - and, though you've heard it before, you can't help believing it when he says it. You let yourself be flattered, for you are young, and foolish as the young so often are, and a night of passion seems worth any price.

***

It is only later that you regret. Later that you realize your naivety. Later, when your body swells with child and the weight of your solitude seems greater than ever.

You curse yourself for a flattered fool, but then recognize that other truth: refusal was never an option. Better that you were awed.

Everything considered, you know you were lucky. You've heard that stories - as who hasn’t? - of Leto, of Alcmene, of Semele.

You don't feel lucky, though. You feel lost, aching, and alone. You're just a girl, in a world that seems far too big for you.

***

Life changes, whether you will it or no. You can't go home again.

Ironic, then, that it's now you wish more than you ever have for your old home. You long for the comfort of your mother, your sisters, the other maidens of Artemis's company who had become as good as family.

But you have given up that life, irrevocably now, and you accept that. You will endure on your own.

So you curl into yourself in the darkness of your cave, and sing yourself and your unborn child to sleep with a tune you used to sing your sisters.

 

 _III. Hermes_

You are awakened abruptly. You immediately recognize Artemis’s twin, but you have no idea why an irate Apollo is in your home.

You still don’t understand after his tirade, something about stolen cows that confuses you even more after you realize his accusations are directed at the newborn who lies beside you in his swaddling bands.

You hold the infant to you protectively and, calmly as you can, point out the sheer impossibility of the accusations.

Except little Hermes starts _arguing_ with him, and you can only stare in disbelief and wonder how far in over your head you are.

***

When your son is finished with Apollo, he has convinced the sun god to let him keep the cattle – in exchange for an instrument he just invented. Shortly after, Hermes wins himself a place among the Olympians, and the position of Herald of the Gods.

His precipitous rise simultaneously pleases and saddens you. You are proud, of course you are proud. But…

They say all children grow too fast, but he has never needed you from the first. You can see nothing of yourself in the charming trickster, and know you will never understand this strange divine child of yours.

 

_IV. Arcas_

You settle into the quiet patterns of your life once again, finding it changed just slightly.

You still live in solitude for the most part. But you are no longer unknown as you were, and there is a certain respect for you as mother of a god. You have visitors more often – some you’d never dreamed to meet, for you’re acquainted with many of the Olympians now (though you’ve never had occasion to meet Hera, and rather hope it remains that way). And your son comes by fairly frequently, bringing you all the news from Olympus and the wide world.

***

Your favorite times are when Hermes comes by with fantastic tales of what he’s been up to. One day it is releasing a young woman transformed into a heifer from the hundred-eyed giant guarding her. Another time it’s guiding a hero back from a venture to the underworld, and another, helping a different hero – Athena’s latest favorite, and from the reports you’ve been hearing of his ingenuity and valor, you can see why – and his men resist a sorceress.

Then one day he shows up not with stories but with an infant and a request for a favor from Zeus.

***

Arcas, the child’s name is. His mother, Callisto, is unable to care for him (having fallen afoul of Hera and Artemis, through no fault of her own). You don’t even wait for the end of the explanation before agreeing to raise him as your own.

After all, you feel better when you can be of use, and it’s been too long since you had anyone to care for. You were made for motherhood; it’ll be nice to raise a child who actually needs your care. Much as you love Hermes, there never was a child born who took less mothering.

 

_V. The Pleiades_

One night you dream a flock of seven grey doves have roosted in the orchard outside your cave. There are no birds around when you wake - but there is a dark-haired, grave-faced goddess come to see you. You invite Artemis in politely, even as your heart is racing.

It's your sisters, she says, and your mother. So sorry. You force yourself to listen as she tells of the man who pursued them. He’s been dealt with - her feral smile makes you shiver - but there was only one way to spare them.

You understand. You wish you didn't.

***

You try to make sense of the whirlwind of emotions that hits you. There's fear - it could have been you; it was only chance that you left them, and you've wished many times to be back.

There's anger. Couldn't they have just submitted? At least then they'd be here today. But you know that's terrible, and you feel ashamed as soon as the thought registers.

And then, just honest sorrow. You recall your dream, and know it will not happen; their bestial brains will not know you to find you. They might as well be gone from this life.

***

You square your shoulders, dry your tears. You always feel better with a purpose, and a sad task remains to you. You prepare for one of your periodic visits to Atlas; your father deserves to hear this from you.

It's not an easy visit, but it's soothing to share your grief, and you remain until the sky is strewn with stars. Looking up, your gaze unerringly finds the bright forms of the boy you loved as your own and his true mother. An idea occurs.

You go as supplicant to the King of Gods. Your turn to ask a favor. 

***

Seven new stars shine in the heavens that night. Their light seems to reach out to you. You feel more alone than ever.

Someday you will join them; that assurance also you have received, for though your lifespan is long, it is not limitless. It's scant comfort, but it's something.

Until then... All beings have their share of sorrow. You will carry yours. You've stood on your own for many years now. You will continue to do so. You have yourself. You have your life. You have your purpose, such as it is. You will remember your sisters.

It suffices.


End file.
